Pieter Omtzigt

Almost all parties in the Tweede Kamer want the government to amend Article 10 of a special emergency law for the Brexit. The 'Brexit Collective Law' will be implemented if the United Kingdom breaks with the European Union with no agreements in place. But the parliamentarians feel the law gives too much power to one minister and uncontrollable powers to the government, NOS reports.

The VVD posted a video on Twitter on Tuesday showcasing the outfits and hats to be worn by prominent party members on Budget Day. It was largely met with criticism. "Do you really have nothing better to do?" one Twitter user wanted to know.

The video features, among others, Minister Eric Wiebes of Economic Affairs, State Secretary Tamara van Ark of Social Affairs and parliamentarian Ockje Tellengen. "Budget Day... plans, figures, millions... But above all: the political catwalk!" the party wrote with the video.

The Dutch government supported Jabhat al-Shamiya, an armed group in Syria that the Public Prosecutor labeled terrorist, according to research by Nieuwsuur and Trouw. A Dutch man is currently being prosecuted for participating in this group. The indictment states that Jabhat al-Shamiya is "salafist and jihadist", "strives for the establishment of a caliphate", and "can't be otherwise qualified" than as a "criminal organization with terrorist intent", Nieuwsuur reports.

The Dutch Tax Authority still hasn't stopped welfare payments to any suspected Dutch jihadists who joined the war in Syria, despite a law making this possible being implemented in October, the Telegraaf reports.

Fake news is a deep concern for the new Netherlands cabinet, and its suppression is a priority in the Dutch cabinet, a new letter sent to parliamentarians shows. Russia deserves much of the blame for a disinformation campaign in the Netherlands, Interior Minister Kajsa Ollongrenhas clearly states in a brief to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament.

Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte clashed with CDA parliamentarian Pieter Omtzigt on the subject of the political relationship with Russia and the MH17 investigation in parliament on Wednesday. Rutte told Omtzigt to think about whether he wants to keep making "a political number out of MH17", or if he'd rather have the "bastards" responsible convicted, RTL Nieuws reports.

On Wednesday afternoon European Central Bank president Mario Draghi is visiting the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament. He can expect to be met with hostility and demands for the ECB to stop pushing billions of euros into the European economy in an effort to boost growth, NU.nl reports after speaking with numerous parliamentarians.

A Ukrainian salvage service is planning another mission to search for and recover both MH17 wreckage and victims' belongings, the chairman of a local village council said to BNR. Natalja Volosjina, in charge of the village council of Petropavlovka, believes it will be safe enough for another salvage mission after the winter, and she hopes that a team from the Netherlands will also take part.

RTL Nieuws managed to break into the social media accounts of various politicians by using previously leaked passwords. With some of them, including the Twitter account of SGP leader Kees van der Staaij, the journalists left a message to show that they were there.

"This account has been leaked and is therefore vulnerable to hackers. Signed Daniel Verlaan and Siebe Sietsma of RTL Nieuws", a tweet read on Van der Staaij's account. The tweet has since been removed. They also broke into CDA Pieter Omtzigt's LinedIn account and various other unnamed politicians' Facebook accounts.

At least 18 Dutch-Turks who were convicted of a crime in the Netherlands, are roaming freely in Turkey, including human trafficker Saban B., Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice wrote in response to questions from CDA parliamentarian Pieter Omtzigt

A clearly angry Prime Minister Mark Rutte called it "punching below the belt" when parliamentarians Louis Bontes and Pieter Omtzigt accused him and the government of covering up facts about flight MH17 during a parliamentary debate on the disaster on Tuesday

Fierce criticism and a motion of no confidence were what Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice faced on Wednesday in the parliamentary debate about his actions surrounding George Maat, the forensic scientist who was discredited after giving a lecture showing images of flight MH17 victims.

Criminal law expert Theo de Roos fears that the corruption scandals recently surrounding Ukrainian secret service SBU will make it more difficult to prosecute those responsible for the disaster with MH17. Much of the evidence in the criminal investigation comes from the SBU

The Tax Authorities have no idea how many sweetheart tax deals have been made with Dutch companies or how much money is involved in such deals. So-called tax rulings and other agreements are made by inspectors and are only noted in individual files, an overview does not exist. Agreements with companies also fall under "fiscal confidentiality".

Photos taken in a secure area of the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 surfaced today on Ukrainian website Censor.net.ua. The photos show parts of the aircraft not yet meant to be seen by the public or journalists, like the cockpit, the Dutch Safety Board confirmed to The Post Online.

Parliament Members have raised questions in the Tweede Kamer (lower house of parliament) about a charity gala happening in Utrecht on March 1st, AD reports. The controversial Sheikh Assim Al-Hakeem is invited to speak there.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders has revoked the visas of three Muslim preachers who were scheduled to speak at a benefit in Rijswijk on 8 March. This was supposedly done because these imams are "hate preachers." It is not clear exactly who these imams are.

An imam gala will likely go ahead as planned, and will be held at the Event Plaza in Rijswijk on March 8. Several MPs have expressed concern and anger at reports that the incoming imams were granted visas. Tickets are still being sold for the event.

Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Bert Koenders is examining whether the cease-fire agreement for Ukraine does include amnesty for the perpetrators of the MH17 disaster. While the MH17 disaster is not specifically mentioned in the accord signed on Thursday, Dutch parliamentarians are urgently seeking clarification of the agreement's text and assurance that it will be able to persecute the perpetrators, reported nos.nl.

The Cabinet should inform the Second Chamber about what arrangements the Tax Service has made with multinationals. This is according to an opinion piece in the Volkskrant written by Jesse Klaver (GroenLinks), Arnold Merkies (SP,) Carola Schouten (ChristenUnie) and Pieter Omtzigt (CDA).

Allegations that members of the Turkish government formally accused the Dutch government of racism are unfounded, a Turkish diplomat said Thursday. "The Turkish government is not accusing the Dutch of racism. The Netherlands is one of our most valuable, and closest allies," a spokesman for the Turkish Embassy to the Netherlands said.

5 to 6 million Dutch will receive an unpleasant surprise from the Tax authorities next year. According to State Secretary of Finance Eric Wiebes, they will get a substantial additional tax. AD reports that this involves amounts of between 300 and 700 euro.

A Utrecht court is set to preside over an emergency hearing on Thursday afternoon over leaked budgetary figures. On Tuesday, RTL published prematurely disclosed figures about purchasing power which were scheduled to be publicly announced on Prinsjesdag.